KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 — Manulife Investment Management (M) Bhd (Manulife IM) has entered into a distribution agreement with OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (OCBC Bank) that will make the Manulife Global Thematic Fund available to OCBC Bank customers.

The Manulife Global Thematic Fund is a retail fund that invests at least 95 per cent of its net asset value into the Allianz Global Investors Fund- Allianz Thematica, which is managed by Allianz Global Investors GmbH.

Chief executive officer Jason Chong said the collaboration would bring together both parties’ combined strengths to add value to OCBC Bank customers while increasing Manulife IM’s own reach to more investors in the country.

"At Manulife IM, we are committed to providing differentiated investment solutions that enable our investors to diversify their portfolios and to generate long-term sustainable returns,” he said in a statement today. "The fund enables investors to capture growth opportunities from four megatrends which include urbanisation, technological innovation, resource scarcity, and demographic and social change.”

OCBC Bank managing director and head of consumer financial services Anne Leh commented that the bank will be in a position to tap into investment opportunities arising from global structural shifts by working with Manulife Investment, a global investment manager with an extensive footprint in Asian markets.

She noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated structural shifts in areas such as advances in technological innovations, as well as changes in demographics and consumer preferences globally.

"For instance, the work-from-home lifestyle that has emerged as a result of the pandemic has changed the way people live and do business and uncovered new long-term investment opportunities in broader themes such as artificial intelligence and remote work technology,” she said. — Bernama